Starting Over
by fmfan1980
Summary: Sasuke killed Naruto and Kakashi after Kaguya was sealed away. Now Sakura stands alone and is about to be killed. Thankfully she is saved by the toads who send her back in time to prevent the oncoming darkness. (24.04.2019: Slight edit to Sakura 'fangirl' reaction to Sasuke near the end of Chapter 01)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and its associated works do not belong to me. I'm just playing in the sandbox created by Masashi Kishimoto.

BOOM!

That was the sound that Sakura and Kakashi heard as they hurriedly made their way to the Valley of the End. The Fourth Great War was over, and humanity won. Now all that needed to be done was to release everyone from the Eternal Tsukuyomi and then return Sakura and Naruto would have completed their mission; returning Sasuke back to Konoha.

At least that was what was supposed to happen.

Instead, Sasuke turned on them after Kaguya was sealed away, and after the Edo Tensei Hokage's passed on to the next life. Sasuke declared that he wasn't going to burn Konoha to the ground anymore; and upon hearing that, Sakura felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She was getting her Sasuke-kun back – he finally let go of his quest for vengeance against Konoha.

But celebratory thoughts were quickly wiped away when the last Uchiha declared he was instead going to kill all the Kage while they were still in their genjutsu world. Sakura, Kakashi, and Naruto listened in horror as Sasuke exclaimed how he would bring a new peace, that he would destroy the system of Hidden Villages which was responsible for the numerous wars. He then exclaimed that he would seal away the Bijuu, and then, to Sakura's horror, Sasuke pointed a finger at Naruto with a cold stare as the blonde Jinchuriki frowned back at the raven-haired teen.

As Sakura leapt from one branch to another with Kakashi by her side, she recalled Sasuke telling Naruto that he contained powers from the Bijuu's as well, and that he would have to die too. Sakura yelled at Sasuke to stop after he told Naruto to meet him where they fought years ago; Sakura yelled out that she loved him and wanted him back to Konoha – a memory of the young Uchiha leaning in for a kiss after he said that her forehead was charming and that he wanted to kiss it flashing before her eyes. While he never did kiss her forehead, just those words solidified Sakura's love for him then and there. Sakura knew there was good in him, and she needed to bring it out… and so she begged for him to stop. But before she could repeat the words he told her that day, after they were assigned into Team Seven, Sakura found herself in a genjutsu as pain shot out through her body. Her eyes looked down at cold Sharingan eyes looking back at her… her eyes then travelled down to see Sasuke's chidori laced hand buried into her chest.

Then the genjutsu faded, and Sakura found her vision being encroached by darkness as she fell onto the ground. The only thing on her mind as she watched Sasuke turn and walk away was his name, 'Sasuke-kun'.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura yelled out over the second "BOOM! in the distance before they grabbed onto tree trucks as a heavy wind washed over them. The trees were straining as they bent sideways with the branches swaying violently and leaves were torn from their stalks before being blown away. When the howling of the winds ceased, Sakura and Kakashi jumped down on to the ground below and stared out into the distance. She turned to her sensei while her heart was racing at the thought of the two people she cared about were fighting each other once again; one was the love she had always dreamed about, and the other was her annoying but caring friend.

And she wanted them both to survive. She wanted them both to return with her to Konoha. She wanted Team Seven reunited again.

"Sensei," Sakura whispered as a sudden quiet took over the land. She glanced over at Kakashi whose eyes were wide open while his hands were rolled into fists, "Sensei?" Sakura wished that Kakashi still had his Sharingan so that he could tell her what was happening, 'he's scared. I can see it in his body language. Scared and angry... he…"

"Let's go, Sakura!" Kakashi curtly said as he stared out into the forest in front of them. Sakura didn't say anything as Kakashi went off running before leaping onto the branches above, there was something in his voice that screamed out 'do not ask any questions'. So, Sakura refrained from asking questions as she ran before leaping up onto a branch and then followed behind the masked ninja.

As the two of them continued on their way, there was just silence where there was once the sounds of massive explosions taking place in the distance.

'Everything's so quiet,' Sakura thought to herself, 'Sasuke-kun, Naruto…' Her thoughts stopped, refusing to go further than just the sight of her teammates in her mind; she remembered how they used to be… she could picture Sasuke being cold and aloof, with the occasional smirk on his lips – "you have a charming forehead, I want to kiss it" – those were the words that popped up in her mind whenever she would remember or see Sasuke. She imagined the boy kissing her forehead, and then imagined the two of them getting married when they returned to Konoha since the war was over and that Naruto succeeded in bringing him back to the village.

'Naruto,' she thought as a small smiled formed on her face. She remembered the promise he made to bring Sasuke back for her, she remembered all the times he made her smile, all the times he stood by her, all the times he saved her. She remembered standing by Tsunade's side on the top of the Hokage Tower watching Naruto walk away with Jiraiya – she promised Naruto that she would become stronger that day after hugging him tight.

'But I was still weak,' Sakura thought to herself as they exited the forest and landed on hard ground before running towards the Valley of the End several miles away, 'when it came to Sasuke-kun, I was weak. I relied on you to bring him back, to convince him that we were a family. And you did… I'm sure you convinced him to stop his plans… I'm sure you're going to be jumping around in happiness while he goes 'Hn'. I'm sure you'll want all of us to go to Ichiraku's when we get back to Konoha. I'm sure that… I'm sure that you're gonna smile that wide smile. That sunny smile that make me wanna smile. I know you stopped him, Naruto. I know… I know because it's you. You are the only one who could…'

Sakura never got to finished her thought when she suddenly felt a flare of chakra in front of her and Kakashi. The both of them stopped and then took a step back; she had her eyes opened wide in stunned silence while Kakashi's hands were rolled into fists at the sight before them – a shirtless, bruised, and bleeding Sasuke landing in front of them with a body laying on his right shoulder. A body he then slammed into the ground while glaring at the two of them with his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and his Rinnegan.

"Sakura, Kakashi," he said standing straight up as Sakura brought her hands up to cover her mouth at the sight of the pale blood covered body on the ground, a body with blood stained blonde hair, three whiskers on each cheek, the hints of a black and dark orange jacket along with a fishnet shirt that was covered in red thanks to a hole in the chest where the heart should have been. Tears streamed down Sakura's face as she stared in horror at Naruto's pale body; she was willing the unmoving chest to expand and contract.

'Breathe, Naruto… breathe, please breathe. DAMN YOU BREATHE!' Sakura mentally screamed as her eyes shifted up towards Sasuke's cold glare before looking back down at the still body.

She lifted her eyes away from Naruto again just as Sasuke pointed at the blonde, "here's your Hero of Konoha, the former Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, the Dope, and the harbinger of peace. True peace with his death." He then shrugged before saying, "hah."

"How could you do this, Sasuke?" Kakashi growled while Sakura, stunned at the turn of events, felt her legs start to crumble. But she forced herself to stay on her feet.

Sakura stared at Sasuke who glanced at her, and then looked away without any shame or regret.

"Why?" Sakura whispered as Sasuke glanced back at her, as did Kakashi while Sakura's arms dangled by her side, her fingers hanging down towards the ground, "Sasuke-kun, why?"

"I told you why." Sasuke calmly said before referring to his 'revolution' speech before the fight between himself and Naruto.

"He was your friend… your best friend… we were a family, all four of us… the village…" at hearing about the village from Sakura, Sasuke huffed before he opened his mouth to say something. However, Sakura beat him to it, "we were all a family. We fought and bled together, we lived… we laughed… we were comrades and…"

"Sakura," Kakashi said as he got into a battle stance, "this isn't the Sasuke you and Naruto knew… not the one that you hoped he would become…"

"You can't fight me, Kakashi," Sasuke said sensing the build-up of chakra in Kakashi's body while sensing nothing from Sakura, all the while Naruto's blood still dripped down the length of his arm, "with my new eyes, with Naruto's Light chakra inside me combined with my own Dark chakra…" Sasuke then shrugged, "I'm nearly a god. I'll kill the Kage's and then… well… my plans for the world will ensure peace. True peace. No more half baked measures based on which village has which Bijuu, or on naïve hopes of peace through words…"

"SHUT UP!" Sakura yelled out in her anger as Sasuke locked his jaw and scowled at the pink haired woman, at her interruption of what he wanted to say.

And he still sensed no Chakra from Sakura, 'you're spent, Sakura. Always so weak… the weakest one among us. At least Naruto put up a fight, what can you do here and now?' Sasuke then shifted his eyes towards Kakashi who was glaring back at him, 'once more huh? The Sensei versus the Student. Don't worry Sensei, I'll be using you as an instrument of my peace… I know what needs to be done now. And you will help me.'

Kakashi sighed, afraid that the emotional roller coaster his pink-haired former student was going through would hamper their ability to at least try and stop Sasuke. He glanced at Sakura, sensing the quiet anger and sadness coming off her, and then his eyes shifted towards Naruto's body, 'Naruto, are you with your parents now? Are you with Jiraiya-sama?' His eyes then shifted towards Sasuke, 'will you forgive me for not being the teacher and friend I should have been, Naruto?' Kakashi closed his eyes for a second, 'I will see you soon, Naruto. And I have a feeling so will…'

"I know there… there's good in you," Sakura whispered, taking Kakashi's attention away from Sasuke as his eyes shifted towards the streams of tears travelling down her face.

'Sakura, he's too far gone,' Kakashi thought while reaching for a kunai, 'even you must be aware of this. Don't let your feelings for him get in the way of what needs to be done.'

"I've seen the good in you… I've seen the love you have for me… please… I love you so much. Let me… let me be… I'll be…." Sakura closed her eyes and sobbed before forcing herself to regain her composure as she opened her red puffy eyes, "I'll keep you grounded. I…."

"Sakura," Sasuke scoffed shaking his head, "stop embarrassing yourself." He sneered before saying, "I don't need you to keep me grounded, you and Kakashi, and even Naruto, are the links to my past. I don't need something like you to tie me down to the past… I'm looking forward. You'll be in my life, but as something else… you will be one part of my plan for the future, and…"

"I saw the good in you!" Sakura exclaimed ignoring what Sasuke just said, "I saw it that day we were assigned to Team Seven. You were the only one to ever acknowledge me… to ever truly accept me for all my faults and…"

"Listen to what I am telling you," Sasuke smirked, "it wasn't me." Sakura shook her head in confusion while saying 'no'. Sasuke, on the other hand, looked away from Sakura and then to Kakashi who was glancing at Sakura before looking down at Naruto. And it was then Sasuke came to a realization, and he laughed. Kakashi and Sakura stared in disbelief as Sasuke laughed for a few seconds before placing a foot on the dead Naruto's chest.

"It was never me," Sasuke sneered as he looked at Sakura staring back up at him, "I never loved you. I never acknowledged you. In fact, you still are the weakest member of Team Seven because you still can't see me as I am now. However,…" Sasuke, sneer still plastered on his face, looked down at Naruto, "I do remember this one time, the day we were assigned to Team Seven, how Naruto jumped me… tied me up in the restroom…" Sasuke then looked up straight into Sakura's eyes, her wide eyes that were in disbelief as he continued, "and then jumped out of the window in the washroom after transforming into me."

"No…" Sakura shook her head, her eyes locked into Sasuke's before she looked down at Naruto as she recalled that day, 'you have a charming forehead, makes me want to kiss it.' Sakura closed her eyes as her knees finally crumbled and she fell onto both her knees scraping against the hard ground, "no." It couldn't have been Naruto, it was Sasuke… it was Sasuke. Her first love was the one who acknowledged the part of her that she always saw as a flaw. Those words about her forehead cemented her love towards the Uchiha, and now he was telling her that it was a transformed Naruto. "No…" Sakura looked back up at Sasuke before yelling out in anguish, "no!"

"I… I thought you knew, Sakura," Kakashi whispered as Sakura turned her head towards the silver haired ninja; her face covered in anguish at the realization that what Sasuke said was the truth, "I had shadow clones follow all three of you. I saw Naruto jump Sasuke, drag him through a window, and then jump out transformed into him."

"Nar… Naruto?" Sakura was panting now as she felt her world crashing down all around her, her eyes fixed on Naruto's pale body, "Naruto?" Sakura stared at the dead body while Sasuke scoffed and looked away from her while mumbling she was weak. As she stared at Naruto's body, Sakura barely felt a brush of air against her cheeks as both Sasuke and Kakashi fought with everything they hand… but it wasn't enough. Sakura's eyes widened as Kakashi's bloody body, a hole through the man's neck, was flung in front of her.. his body skidding on the ground before comin to a stop just before hitting her knees. Her eyes were wide open at the bloody hole n her sensei's neck, her heart falling at her inability to do anything that could stop Sasuke.

And that was a fact. She couldn't stop Sasuke. There was no way. She told herself that this was it… that no matter what she did, she could never beat the boy she loved. The very boy she thought had the same feelings buried deep down within him. Feelings which were really Naruto's while he was transformed as Sasuke.

She could hear footsteps in the distance just over the 'thump thump' sound of her racing heart and the 'whoosh whoosh' of blood pumping though the arteries behind her ears. 'Naruto,' she thought thinking back to that fateful day, 'that was you…. That was you…' Sakura's bottom lip trembled as she shut her eyes, her body trembled as she recalled that day at the Konoha gates after Sasuke defected, 'I begged… I begged you to… my god… Naruto, why? Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me it was you?'

Sakura snapped opened her eyes upon feeling a hand cup the lower half of her face before squeezing tight – the fingers jamming into her cheeks, the fingernails pressing into her skin after Sasuke went down on one knee in front of her. Sakura stared into the red and purple eyes on either side of Sasuke's head, and she suddenly felt herself become heavy. She couldn't move her arms as they hung limply by her side, neither could she speak, or move her feet.

"You wasted your whole life for a literal dream of being with me," Sasuke whispered as he tilted his head, "you followed my every whim, you and the dope followed me to the end of the Earth for nothing." Sasuke then sighed, "I never loved you, Sakura. But you… like Naruto, are a friend. And I plan on keeping you, Naruto, Kakashi and the five Kage, after I've killed them of course, by my side for the realization of my dream. For my peace, you and the others are going to become my Paths… my Sage Paths. You and Naruto, and the others will lead the world in this new peace, towards a new future, while I watch over you all."

'No!' Sakura wanted to scream, but she couldn't move her lips, 'is this a genjutsu?' Her eyes shifted towards Naruto's dead body, 'you should have told me, Naruto. YOU… you baka!' Sakura wanted to cry out in rage, but she couldn't. All she could do was think, 'you should have told me.'

"Now, don't you wished you killed me back in the Land of Iron?" Sasuke arched his eyebrow as he got back up to his feet, stepped back, and then activated his Chidori. Sakura stared straight at the electricity that engulfed Sasuke's left hand before he pulled it back, "this will hurt for just a second, Sakura. Think of it as thanks for… you know… being a friend. And now, you'll be one of my Paths for all time. Think of it this way, a small part of your dream is going to come true."

Sakura closed her eyes, unable to still move her extremities as she remained kneeling on the ground. Suddenly, she found herself staring at Naruto and Kakashi waiting for her in a room surrounded by pure white light – white walls with a white floor covered in light mist. She stood still, her eyes focused on the blonde who looked as he did when he was twelve years old. Her eyes then shifted towards Kakashi who gave her his famous eye-smile while, at the same time, Sakura heard the sound of birds chirping past the walls and into the distance. She could hear the sound of the chirping birds coming towards her.

"Why?! Naruto! Why didn't you tell me that was you?!" Sakura yelled out in the white room as she started to run towards the two with her eyes focused on Naruto. She saw Naruto and Kakashi waving at her, and they were soon joined by the Sandaime, the Yondaime, and a red-haired woman she didn't recognize. She watched, while running as fast as she could towards Naruto, as Jiraiya appeared placing his hand on top of Naruto's head and ruffling his messy hair.

"NARUTO!" Sakura yelled as the white-walled room started to lengthen into a hall… she started running faster but the faster she ran, the further away Naruto and the others seemed as they waved at her. "Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she ran faster and faster, but Naruto remained getting further and further away while the sounds of birds chirping got so close that she felt a sudden heat on her chest.

"NARUTO!" Sakura yelled out before she suddenly stopped running when a gentle voice whispered in her ear as Naruto and the others vanished, and she alone remained in the white-walled room.

"It's not your time, Sakura-chan," Sakura snapped her head towards her left side at hearing Naruto's voice. But all she saw was a white-wall.

"Naruto," she whispered closing her eyes as a gentle breeze brushed her cheeks. She remembered the Chidori, and that Sasuke was going to kill her with it before he did whatever he wanted to do with her body, "forgive me."

Sakura breathed out, closing her eyes while expecting the impact from the Chidori at any time as the heat on her chest increased. In the real world, Sasuke's Chidori covered hand was millimetres away from Sakura's chest as she remained helplessly on her knees with her eyes closed. He could, with his Sharingan, see the heavy lightning chakra at the edge of his hand begin burning a spot through her regulation Chuunin undershirt, and then singeing a spot of her skin over her left breast just over her heart.

'Forgive me, Sakura,' Sasuke thought with a look of conviction on his face, 'what I do, I do for peace. I do for the future. All of you will be by my side. To you, it will seem as if you fell asleep for a few minutes. But for now, farewell.'

Back in the white-walled room, Sakura gasped upon hearing a familiar voice once once again. It was Naruto's voice, "Reverse-summoning Jutsu!"

"Naruto!" Sakura felt a pull as she opened her eyes to find herself covered in smoke. She coughed as she lifted her arm and used her hand to cover her mouth while the other hand wiped her eyes which stung, 'wait, I can move!' Sakura opened her eyes wide and then stood up before looking around and yelling out, "Naruto!"

But there was no response as the smoke dissipated.

"Sakura-sama."

Sakura turned around and a smile formed on her face as she stared at the towering Katsuyu, and then the pink haired girl's smile turned to a look of confusion as more of the smoke dissipated and she found herself somewhere that was not Shikkotsu Forest. The terrain was different – instead of tall trees all around her with the ground covered in a thin layer of fog, she was surrounded by yellow sky, giant mushrooms, and grass, and lily pads where she swore she saw toads resting.

"Katsuyu-sama, where are…"

"Sakura-chan," Sakura looked down at the two toads that appeared from behind the giant slug– one with purple hair and purple lips, and the other was one she had met the day after it was discovered that Jiraiya died… it fact he was the one who told Naruto of the Sannin's death, "welcome to Mount Myoboku."

"Fukasaku-sama, Shima-sama," Sakura bowed in respect before she placed her hand on her chest, she could still feel a burning sensation on her chest before looking down to see a small hole just above her left breast with the skin singed. Shaking her head, Sakura looked back up and asked, "why am I here?" She then looked up at Katsuyu, "Katsuyu-sama? Why am…"

"We sensed Naruto-chan's death," Fukasaku said as Sakura pressed her lips together and looked away from them, "this was the worst case scenario... even so, it is something we never thought could actually happen."

"That…" Sakura stopped talking as she rolled her hands into fists.

"_**He's a traitor! Just say that he's a TRAITOR!"**_

Sakura was internally surprised at the return of her inner self as she looked over at the male toad while continuing, "That…" Sakura wanted to call Sasuke a traitor… she wanted to call him an evil man. But a part of her couldn't, 'he… he betrayed us. So why can't I just say it… he… he murdered Naruto. He murdered Kakashi for… why can't I just say he's a traitor. How weak… how weak am I that…'

"We know what Naruto-chan meant to you, dear," Shima said, bringing Sakura out of her thoughts, while Katsuyu lowered her massive head.

"When Naruto-sama died, I was sent a message to meet with the Great Toad Sage," Katsuyu said when she sensed her summoner's unease while thinking about what Sasuke did to Naruto and what the Avenger said to her, "they showed me through the Sage's crystal ball of what Sasuke revealed to you."

Sakura's shoulders fell forward before looking up at Katsuyu and then looking back down at the two toads before she bowed, "please forgive me for my weakness. I should have… I… I…"

"There was nothing you could have done. We could feel Sasuke's power growing from all the way here," Fukasaku said, "when we lost Naruto-chan's chakra signal, we determined the worst had happened. And the Great Toad Sage's crystal ball confirmed as such. We realise that with Naruto gone, darkness would take over. And what we suspected came true when Sasuke revealed to you what his version of peace would be like."

"This is our fault… we should have been watching him…" Shima whispered shaking her head before continuing, "So, we requested Katsuyu-chan's aid… we brought her here and asked for permission to reverse summon you to Mount Myoboku."

Sakura took in a deep breath before saying, "but if Sasuke's as powerful he said he is… I mean with both Dark and Light chakra's inside him. Then what could I… what could we do?"

"There is something, Sakura-sama," Katsuyu said as Sakura looked up at the slug, "that is another reason I was brought here – the toads seek my permission to use a special jutsu to send you back."

"Back?" Sakura asked.

"Back," Shima said with a serious look on her face, "back to the past… back to…"

"Well."

Sakura spun around at the sound of that familiar voice while the toads and Katsuyu released killing intent at the appearance of the very man who wanted to singlehandedly bring peace to the Shinobi world by burning it down to ashes and then rebuilding it, 'how did no one sense…'. The pink haired woman's eyes went wide as Sasuke stepped out of a purple coloured portal, his Rinnegan flashing slightly before the portal vanished. Sakura then heard thuds all around her as giant Toads, some with swords on their backs, and others with shields surrounded them. At the same time, Katsuyu separated into smaller versions of herself and took up positions around them. However, Sasuke simply smiled at the toads around him before he turned his attention to Sakura, "please, tell me more about this… what is now? A time travel jutsu?"

Sakura was about to speak, but instead she froze once again after Sasuke activated his Sharingan. Suddenly, she felt as if she couldn't move her arms or legs as she stared at Sasuke who said, "did you really think you'd be safe here?" Sakura watched helplessly as Sasuke then spun around as he growled at the toads and slugs that surrounded him, "do you really believe that all of you have a place in my new peace as independent summons!?"

Suddenly, before Sakura could think, she felt a rush of wind while her surroundings blurred. And a second later, she found herself in a large hallway. She looked around while trying to keep the contents of her stomach down before she set her eyes on the biggest toad she had ever seen seated on a giant chair at the top of a series of steps.

"Ma!" Sakura tore her eyes away from the Great Toad Sage to the sound of Fukasaku's yell as the latter rushed to a corner of an intricate seal on the floor, "is it done?" Sakura looked down at the lines that made up the seal before looking back up with eyes wide as Fukasaku nodded his head at his wife before clapping his hands together, "concentrate!"

Spinning around at the sounds of explosions and unearthly screams of toads being ripped apart by Sasuke himself, Sakura gulped before she tried pulling any chakra within her… she didn't have much of her chakra left. She was very low in chakra when they met Sasuke after he murdered Naruto, and now she had very little to defend herself or the toads.

'You're weak.'

'You're annoying.'

Sasuke's voice echoed in her mind as she spun towards Shima and then to Fukasaku. She then turned around towards the closed doors on the far side of the hall and pressed her lips together.

"No," Sakura then whispered making her hands into fists as she glared at the closed door in front of her while the building they occupied started to shake, "I…" Sakura was about to take a step when she heard distant screams from dying toads on ethe other side of the door while Shima yelled out.

"Sakura dear!" Sakura spun around and stared at the purple haired toad shaking her head, "you need to remain within the seal."

Before Sakura could even ask how they managed to get this seal painted on the floor so quickly, Fukasaku said, "this seal was created around the time the old Sage told Jiraiya-chan of the Child of Prophecy. It was Jiraiya-chan himself who created this seal in the event that the Child of Prophecy was unable to save the world. We had faith in Naruto-chan, we believed he would win. We believed in him… and so we didn't watch him. We were so confident that we never bothered to…" Fukasaku looked away in shame, "it is our fault." He then looked back at Sakura, "but you are now the hope… you are the one who is needed to change the future."

"This seal was meant to send Naruto-chan back to the past so that he could fix things," Shima said, "but we never thought he would fail. That boy never gave up and so... so we never thought that he would fail."

Sakura looked on as the seal started to glow as the large Toad Sage brought his hands together. It was then that Sakura realized something, "wait… if this seal was meant for Naruto, then…"

"We used the blood from your contract with Katsuyu… we added it after Naruto's death onto the seal itself," Shima said as a hum was heard from all around them, "all that you are - your chakra… your experiences, your memories, and your soul will be sent back in time." The hum started to get louder, as did the shaking all around her, along with the screams of toads being slaughtered by a madman right outside the door. Sakura closed her eyes again and took in a deep breath.

"This world will be destroyed," the Great Toad Sage spoke as Sakura opened her eyes and stared into his yellow eyes, "I have seen a new future. A new possibility."

"Now?!" Fukasaku yelled as a sudden howling wind blew in the giant chamber, "of all times… now?!"

"What.. what's the future!" Sakura yelled over the howling wind as the seal glowed blue, and then red, and then blue again.

"A great fox being carried by a flower. Two pairs of red eyes standing along with them as they stare out at a great army of destruction and wrath."

And the Great Toad Sage stopped talking while staring at Sakura, "perhaps this was always meant to happen, Haruno Sakura." Sakura then heard a crash behind her and she turned to find Sasuke, a katana in his hand, his body and the blade covered in green and blue blood with the stone doors lying crashed on the floor.

"You all failed, I…"

"Sage art," the three toads yelled out as Sasuke rushed towards Shima, the arm holding the katana pulled back, "Life Reintegration Jutsu!"

"No!" Sakura yelled out as the katana in Sasuke's right hand sliced Shima in half while the Great Toad Sage was burning in black fire, 'Amaterasu!'. However, it was too late to do anything as Sasuke murdered Fukasaku before he turned, his eyes connecting with Sakura. Sakura saw the raven haired Uchiha leap towards her, a scream escaping his lips just as she yelled out, "murderer!"

Sakura closed her eyes tight just before her vision was covered in brilliant blue and white light; and before long she heard the sound of a massive explosion in the distance. However, just before she closed her eyes from the brilliant flash of light, Sakura could have sworn she saw Naruto giving her a thumbs up with a grin on his face while faded images of Kakashi, the Yondaime, the Sandaime, the Niidaime, and the Shodai Hokage grabbed Sasuke before he entered the seal and pulled him away.

A few seconds later, Sakura opened her eye lids a little; only to see a smiling Naruto looking back at her, "goodbye, Sakura-chan."

'Naruto.'

And then Sakura felt her body being ripped apart.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" she screamed in pain while her eyes were closed shut.

Sakura felt as if her soul was being pulled every which way as she screamed out in pain. She felt tears travelling down her cheeks as the pain intensified for several seconds before the pain was suddenly gone. Now, Sakura felt herself floating before there was a sudden sensation of her body moving at a great speed. Sakura was afraid to open her eyes, a part of her was curious of what was happening to her… but another part was terrified of what she would see. But before she could make a decision on whether to open her eyes or not, she felt herself stop moving before she felt a breeze.

Where she was once standing, she felt her knees on the ground. Sakura could hear someone, a male, shouting in the distance but she couldn't make it out. It was because the yells from the male voice was being covered up by a scream. She couldn't tell who was screaming, but she knew the voice was that of a female.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" the female voice screamed. Sakura recognized it, but she couldn't place it. Sakura thought it was strange. Then suddenly she felt a kick to her side before she felt herself flying through the air for a few seconds before skidding onto the ground. And then the scream got louder as other voices were yelling at the top of their lungs for it whoever it was that was screaming to shut up. Then Sakura felt another kick, and then another, and then another before there was a 'whooosh' sound and she felt herself being kicked off the ground by a rush of wind that cut through her clothing and skin... Sakura could feel blood dripping from the cuts as she flew through the air once again.

Her body was now burning. Sakura felt every nerve burning as they sent signals that were telling her body to wake up. Sakura felt her synapses firing like crazy as she opened her eyes to find everything moving in slow motion. She was flying through the air, her body rotating vertically. She caught glimpses of three figures in brownish clothes. Her mind was trying to place the familiar get-up the three were wearing.

Boy was her body burning. It was that burning that made her want to scream.

'Oh,' Sakura realized as the source of the female scream came into focus. She was the one screaming in pain.

In the meantime, the ninja from Otogakure; Kin, Dosu, and Zaku sneered at the pink haired girl as she crashed into a tree trunk before falling among the think surface roots that snaked partway through the ground.

She landed really hard.

Zaku brought his hands up towards Sakura's body as she lay face down, her head looking in their direction. She gritted her teeth- she was trying to stop the burning sensation throughout her body from turning her body into ash.

At least she thought she would turn to ash.

Well, not literally into ash. But it certainly felt like it. To the left, behind the three Oto-nin, were the unconscious forms of Sasuke, Naruto and Rock Lee. To the right of Team Dosu, unknown to Sakura, who had gone silent, were Team Ten; Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji.

**Team Ten, five minutes earlier.**

Team Ten had been shaking in fear as they listened to Sakura screaming in abject pain when the one known as Kin gripped her by the hair a few moments earlier. They were staring from the shadows as Sakura brought up her kunai… she was about to cut her own hair before the sharp implement fell out of her hands and she started screaming in pain like a madwoman.

Team Ten heard the bloodcurdling scream as Kin let go of Sakura's hair in initial shock, causing the pinkette to fall to the ground on her side. Team Ten watched as the three Oto-nin screamed at her to "shut up!" But she didn't, and Team Ten watched helplessly as the Oto-nin kicked her.

"Ino, she's your friend, right? What are you going to do?" Shikamaru asked as he winced once a kick caused Sakura to roll in the air before skidding again once she reached the ground. Ino was shaking as she wordlessly watched Sakura continue to scream out in pain with her eyes closed shut. She watched as the one known as Zaku pointed the palm of his hands towards Sakura while yelling at her to shut up. They watched helplessly as he fired his Decapitating Air Waves, causing Sakura to get cut in many places before she slammed into a tree.

"Ino!" hissed Shikamaru as he watched the blonde shaking in fear. Shikamaru turned back to watch Zaku aim his arms at Sakura once again, the pink haired girl having stopped screaming. In fact, she was so very still.

"She doesn't look good, Ino," Choji whispered before he gulped. He was afraid that Ino would pull them into the fight against opponents who seemed to have taken out both Naruto and Sasuke – the latter being the Rookie of the Year, the Uchiha prodigy who was supposed to be able to beat any of the Gennin in the exam. He glanced at the Uchiha boy as he lay unconscious before looking over at the pale Ino who was shaking in fear as the three Oto-Nin turned away from the bleeding and unconscious Sakura and laughed.

It was both the female Oto-Nin, Kin, and Zaku who were laughing. They were saying that Sakura was weak and that she deserved to die. The three members of Team Ten moved their eyes towards the unconscious and bleeding form of the pink haired girl. Each one of the clan heirs were thinking the same thing, they were scared. They were terrified. But they knew something had to be done or else Lee, Sasuke, and Naruto would be killed while they remained unconscious.

"Orochimaru-sama wants Sasuke-kun alive," Dosu said as he stood over the Uchiha while Kin took out her kunai and was twirling it around while staring down at Naruto. At the same time, Zaku was glaring at Lee, and then a sneer formed by his lips before lifting his arms towards the unconscious Lee. The two of them waiting for Dosu's order, which came a second later, "Kill the rest."

"We need to move," Shikamaru whispered and was about to begin the hand seals for his Shadow Possession Jutsu when, suddenly, everyone froze upon hearing a pained voice. Team Ten looked up at Sakura who was struggling to push herself up, her bleeding arms straining to push her up as she glared at the Oto-Nin.

**Sakura**

When she was lying flat on the ground, Sakura's face was in the direction of the three Oto-nin. She watched as Kin and Zaku laughed as they turned away from her. She saw Dosu staring at her for a second longer before turning around and making his way to the unconscious Sasuke. Sakura felt the burning sensation throughout her body increasing until she felt numb. She didn't know if it was because she was just really badly injured… but she couldn't feel that burning anymore.

All of a sudden, she tensed as newly formed memories appeared in her mind. It was like an avalanche as she saw, and recalled, events that were yet to happen taking their places in her mind. She recalled this very moment, but it had happened differently. Sakura remembered that Team Ten should have come out of hiding to help her, Lee, and Team Seven. Sakura didn't know why they didn't interfere this time as she took in a deep breath while Dosu told Kin and Zaku no to kill Sasuke.

Sakura then felt her chakra - the very chakra that had been causing the burning sensation throughout her body. It was due to all her remaining chakra from the future being funnelled back into her body in the past. Her memories of the future were now fully integrated into her younger body, and her chakra was about to follow suit.

At the same time, Sakura wondered what happened to the soul of her younger self. Did she push it away, or did she merge with it somehow? However, it didn't matter now.

"Kill the rest," Dosu had said, and immediately, Sakura pushed through the pain, gritting her teeth as pain flared from her arms, back, shoulders, abdomen, and legs. Sakura didn't stop.

She growled out, "stay away from them!" The tone was enough for the three Oto-nin to turn towards her. She was now glaring at them while her body was in a kneeling position. She then pushed her body… pushed through the pain as she watched the three Oto-Nin walking towards her. They took their sweet time, after all Sakura was the weakest one. And they knew it.

As Sakura pushed herself to her unsteady feet, her thoughts went back to Sasuke. The man had murdered Naruto and Kakashi, he had murdered so many of the toads including Shima, the Great Toad Sage, and Fukusaku. He even wanted to murder the Kage's. He wanted to murder the Godaime, Sakura's master. Just thinking about it made her angry. She hated herself more than ever as she thought about the smirk on his face as he placed his foot on the chest of the dead Naruto.

"**Finish them off and then call Sasuke for what he is… or what he would be… a traitor!" **Inner Sakura said as Sakura glared at the three Oto-nin who stopped. She saw Dosu staring at her with his head tilted.

"I have to give you some respect," Dosu said as Zaku lifted his arms and pointed his palms at Sakura, "a shinobi should die on his or her feet. If we had to kill you while you were lying down, then that would have proved to us how weak you really are."

"She's still weak," Kin sneered.

Sakura glanced at Naruto as she remembered that day under the tree, "you have a charming forehead, makes me want to kiss it". It was the day her love for Sasuke was 'locked-in'. But it wasn't Sasuke who said those words. It was Naruto. It was Naruto who acknowledged her.

"You will stay away from them," Sakura said as she brought her hands together into the tiger seal.

"And what are you trying to do?" Zaku growled as he prepared to fire his Decapitating Airwaves Jutsu from the holes in the palms of his hands. He then shrugged before laughing and then growling out an answer to his own question, "you know what? I don't care… Decapitating Airwaves…."

Zaku stopped speaking. Sakura narrowed her eyes at the man as his body shook before he lowered his arms. It was as if he was doing it against his will, and Sakura smiled as she leaned sideways to arch her eyebrows at Team Ten- Ino with her hands up towards Kin before performing the Mind Transmission Jutsu; Shikamaru using his Shadow to force Zaku's arms down; and Choji was guarding Ino's unconscious body.

"Don't," the Ino-occupied Kin said as she took out a kunai from Kin's holster and pressed it against Dosu's neck, "we'll forget all this happened. All of you just walk away right now."

'Better late than never,' Sakura thought to herself before she closed her eyes and began diverting the excess chakra in her pathways. It was painful. She recalled Tsunade's instructions and so, instead of her chakra slowly trickling into a separate reservoir so that she could rebuild her Strength of a Hundred Seal over time, Sakura had to deal with a much greater amount of chakra being dumped into her pathways.

She discovered the hard way that despite having what would be low levels of chakra in her future, older body; her younger body treated it as dangerously high levels of chakra that suddenly flooded her chakra network. Sakura reminded herself that she was in a younger body, and that her chakra pathways were still developing and were already strained. So, instead of taking it slow, Sakura forcefully dumped the excess chakra into the separate reservoir… she could already feel it overflowing as the transfer of chakra from her future self was completely funnelled into her. She could feel her forehead warming as her Strength of a Hundred seal formed – the familiar diamond shape coming into view.

Sakura saw the surprise on the Oto-nin's, including the Ino-occupied Kin, faces as the seal on her forehead came into being.

The flood of chakra now over, Sakura could feel her chakra now slowly tricking through her pathways and into the already overflowing reservoir for the Strength of a Hundred seal. Sakura gritted her teeth as she whispered whilst watching Ino, in Kin's body, telling Dosu and Zaku that Team Ten had won and that the Oto-nin wouldn't harm their own comrade.

'I still have to re-expand my chakra capacity,' Sakura thought as she, her body still in extreme pain breathed in, 'this younger body has… I don't know… maybe… maybe I could release the seal for two minutes… oh God, two minutes…' Sakura's heart dropped at the thought of having lost the conditioning of her older body, 'stop thinking about that…' her eyes went to Lee, Sasuke, and then at Naruto, 'we are going to have a little talk, baka.'

The left side of Sakura's lips curled upwards as she glanced at Ino, "leave that body, Ino."

"Hey forehead, what's that on your forehead?" Ino, in Kin's body, asked with her eyes narrowing at the purple coloured diamond seal.

"Leave," Sakura growled while she glared at Dosu, her eyes glancing at Ino, "he'll kill his own comrade to…"

"You're right," Dosu said as he turned to Kin, raised his hand towards her face. And then everyone stopped at hearing Sakura's voice.

"Seal release," Sakura growled. She felt the seal unfurl as the Ino-occupied Kin, Dosu, and Zaku stared in confusion at what was happening. They watched as the diamond mark on Sakura's forehead unfurled to form lines that crossed her face as her injuries started to rapidly heal. They looked on as the cuts all over her body healed, scarless skin now visible through the cuts on her qipao dress and shorts.

Ino, in Kin's body, whispered in surprise, "Forehead, what the hell?"

Sakura felt alive. There was no more pain as her chakra permeated through her whole body. "Leave now," Sakura ordered before she pushed off with a chakra enhanced leap. She shunshined just in front of a surprised Dosu who had turned his gauntlet covered hands towards Sakura. Everything was in slow motion as he activated the gauntlets while Sakura ducked beneath his arms while her right arm was cocked back. She could feel the waves of sound from the gauntlets impacting her body, her muscles tearing and then immediately being stitched back together due to the still activated seal.

"Shannaro!" Sakura yelled out as her fist met Daso's abdomen. She hit him at an upward angle, and before long, everyone watched Dosu flying up into the tree truck several meters behind him hard before crashing back onto the ground. Sakura then spun around towards Zaku who was sweating bullets while yelling out that he could feel Shikamaru's hold on him weakening.

"I'll get you!" he yelled out before he was given a chakra enhanced punch to the left side of his jaw. The man flew of off Shikamaru's shadow and they watched Zaku crash onto the ground, causing a small crater to form. Sakura then turned to the one known as Kin.

"Get out of there Ino," Sakura demanded with a look of anger, "now."

Kin nodded her head before bring her hands together and saying, "Kai!"

"What the…" Kin never got to finish what she wanted to say before, thanks to the momentary dizziness caused by the release of the Mind Transmission Technique, Sakura knocked her out. The girl was slammed onto the ground a meter away following a backhanded slap from the pink haired girl. Sakura was breathing hard as she recreated the seal, the girl now feeling her Chakra was at a more comfortable level. Sakura glared at Kin and then at the unconscious Zaku, and then at the direction where Dosu was lying on the ground unconscious.

She then turned to the surprised Team Ten, "hey."

"What just happened?" Ino asked as she strode towards the pink haired girl while Shikamaru and Choji stood back. They looked around at the two small craters and then at the downed tree while Ino cried out, "what the hell…?"

Sakura's shifted her eyes towards Dosu, she remembered he was the one who had a scroll. And since the team had their scroll burned by Orochimaru, she needed to take his scroll away. Sakura, her body already fully healed and her pathways full of chakra, rushed past Ino who yelled out "Sakura!"

The pinkette rushed to the side of the unconscious Dosu, got down on one knee, and turned him over. She then patted down the side of his body with her hands as Ino rushed to her side. Just as Ino arrived, Sakura grabbed a hold of the scroll and pulled it out before placing it into her hip pack. Zipping the pack closed, Sakura looked up at a confused Ino who had her hands on her hips.

Sakura wanted to hug Ino… after all, they had already rebuilt their friendship despite still having their ongoing rivalry when it came down to Sasuke – the latter taking on a friendlier form – after their fight in Phase Two of the Chuunin exams. Sakura got up to her feet as she mentally told herself that the Ino she had known was gone… the one from the future was trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi and that they would never see each other again.

'Does that future still exist?' Sakura thought as she stared at Ino, 'Ino, Shikamaru, Choji…. You're all alive.'

"Forehead," Ino growled with her hands on her hips, "what the hell is going on?"

'You wouldn't believe me if I told you,' Sakura thought to herself as she untied her forehead protector. She then retied it around the back of her head, the band going under her hair while the metallic piece covered the purple coloured seal before she turned towards the unconscious forms of her friends just as she heard thuds from above. Sakura looked up, along with Ino and the others, to see Neji and Tenten looking down at them from a branch. Sakura could see the veins around Neji's eyes, meaning the boy already had his Byakugan activated.

Sakura wondered how much had Neji seen. She didn't want her strength to be public knowledge, at least not now. Not until she had spoken to Kakashi and the Sandaime.

'The Sandaime's alive,' Sakura formed a small smile, 'but we'll need Tsunade-sama back, and then we'll have to take care of Danzo.' Sakura knew it was a tall order, she knew it would take a lot of convincing for Kakashi and the Hokage not to see her as someone going through a mental breakdown.

She pushed all that aside as Tenten leapt down to the ground next to Lee. Sakura saw Tenten staring at her wearily, and then at the rest of Team Ten, as she wrapped one of Lee's arms around her shoulder before standing up. Lee was leaning against her before she leapt to the branch, the three members of Team Gai now together.

Sakura glanced at Neji, his Byakugan now deactivated. Her mind went back to when she was standing over the boy's body as it was being cradled in the arms of a sobbing Lee. Sakura had been at the other end of the vast battlefield at the time, using her healing abilities augmented by Naruto's Level One Kyuubi cloak in healing as many shinobi as possible.

It would be only after the two wooden poles were stabbed through his body that Sakura received news… and she ran as fast as possible to the front lines where the fighting had ceased as everyone remained in shock. One of the much vaunted Konoha Eleven had fallen, and it was going to be a turning point in either the favour of the Alliance or the enemy.

Sakura knew it all depended on how Naruto handled it. As she ran, she could hear Obito mocking Naruto's Nindo and his claim that he was not going to see any of his comrades die. By the time she arrived, Sakura saw Neji's dead body and Hinata holding Naruto's hand.. Everyone in the Alliance felt a great resolve through their connection to Naruto thanks to the cloak. Naruto's resolve to continue to fight, to never give up.

"You have a charming forehead," Sakura remembered 'Sasuke', really Naruto in disguise, speaking to her.

Sakura pulled herself out of that memory as she shifted her sights towards Tenten, "he's injured."

"We'll take care of him," Tenten said as she stared at Sakura with suspicion etched on her face.

Sakura then glance at the smirk on Neji's face, 'I forgot that guy was a jerk when he was younger. Can't wait for Naruto to beat you again.'

"We need to go, they don't have the scroll we need," Neji said.

Tenten nodded her head before they left with Lee. Sakura breathed out and then turned to the groaning Naruto while Sasuke was slowly coming too as well. Sakura's eyes watched as Shikamaru was standing over Naruto, the future strategists eyes watching her lazily while Choji was poking at Naruto's arm. She then saw Ino by Sasuke's side, on one knee, before she leaned down and gently patted one cheek with her hand.

Sakura would ordinarily be angry that Ino was even touching Sasuke. The pinkette was very aware of that fact. But all she saw as she stared at the future Avenger was Sasuke throwing Naruto's dead body onto the ground, throwing Kakashi's dead body towards her, and herself nearly being stabbed through the chest with the Chidori. A part of her still loved Sasuke, but there was another part of her that was telling her that Sasuke was a danger… that there was nothing she could do that would stop him from becoming that monster in the future.

"**And he is a monster," **Sakura's inner self exclaimed.

'I still have to try preventing that,' Sakura thought to herself as she imagined facing her Inner who then scoffed, 'but I know that I have to ease up a little on his. Seeing him with Naruto's blood on his hands, remembering that he killed Kakashi-sensei, and was so close to killing me…'

"**Again… he nearly killed us again," **the Inner said.

'Well I'll have to begin changing myself, I guess,' Sakura thought to herself as she glanced at Naruto, 'that baka likes my forehead huh?'

Upon hearing a weak voice saying, "Choji? Shikamaru?" Sakura had a small smile form on her face at Naruto who was struggling to sit up, "what are you guys…" His eyes then widened as he stared at the two boys from Team Ten, "oh, Sakura-chan… Sasuke… that weird woman got…" Naruto was staring at Choji and Shikamaru before his head turned towards Sakura, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sakura-chan."

"Naruto," Sakura said as she strode towards him. She could see Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru glancing at her as she kneeled next to Naruto who was already rubbing the back of his head and complaining about having been unconscious for too long before Sakura said, "don't get up yet. You're still weak."

"How about Sasuke?" he asked before Sakura glanced at the boy who was slowly waking up.

"Oi! SASUKE!" Naruto yelled as he leaned towards the Uchiha who snapped up into a sitting position, barely missing hitting Ino's forehead. He then growled and turned to Naruto who was laughing while pointing a finger at him. Hearing Naruto laugh brought Sakura crashing back down to reality… this was the period of time when they were all, in many ways, still innocent in the world of the Shinobi. She smiled at Naruto before her eyes shifted towards Sasuke rubbing his ears, and then bringing his right hand over his left shoulder and rubbing the back of his neck.

'The curse mark,' Sakura thought as she looked away.

"Sakura," Sasuke said as he looked around at the two unconscious bodies before turning his head back towards Sakura. At that time, Sakura too looked back at his direction, "what happened?"

"Yeah," Naruto asked as he looked back at the hollow tree stump, and then back to Sakura, "the last thing I remembered was fighting that weird lady… or man… or something… and then… well…"

"That guy bit me," Sasuke said, staring at Sakura, "and that's all I remember." He too then looked behind him while Ino caught a glimpse of the mark on the back of his neck. He turned back towards Sakura, "did you drag us here?"

"Yea," Sakura nodded her head.

"You should have seen what…" Choji was saying before being interrupted.

"Everything was quiet," Sakura said with a smile at Naruto and Sasuke while Team Ten were glancing at each other, "you should have seen how there was nothing moving. It was actually kind of creepy… at least for a while. I mean… you know how it is.. nothing moving in a forest is a bit weird," Sakura then nodded at the injured Oto-nin lying around them, "then these guys came and… well…"

"You fought them by yourself?" Naruto was in awe as he stared at Sakura while Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the two visible bodies, Kin and Zaku – with Dosu's unconscious body lying hidden in the undergrowth meters away – and then back to Sakura in disbelief, "wow, Sakura-chan, you're so…"

"Come on, I was scared," Sakura chuckled, the girl putting a bit of nervousness in her laugh. She then nodded at Choji and the others, "they'd have killed me if Ino-pig and her team weren't around to save me."

Naruto then turned to a confused Choji and thanked him profusely before he stood up to thank Shikamaru and Ino. Sakura too, stood up before reaching down with her hand to help Sasuke back to his feet.

"Ino pig," Sakura said before sticking her tongue out at her rival, who was staring back at her with a look of confusion, "thanks. But maybe you should… you know… go oinking away?"

"Why you…" Ino was about to dash forward when she suddenly stopped upon seeing Shikamaru shaking his head, "fine, forehead girl. But guess what? I touched Sasuke-kun's cheeks…" Ino smirked as Sasuke's face turned red in embarrassment, "and they were really soft."

"Oh God," Sasuke sighed shaking his head while still rubbing the mark on the base of his neck, something not missed by the others.

"You okay, Sasuke?" Naruto said as he went on to look at what his teammate was rubbing. Instead, Sasuke turned away and said that it was nothing.

"It's some kind of a tattoo, Sasuke-kun," Ino said.

"It's nothing," hissed Sasuke as he hissed at Ino before turning to Shikamaru and Choji, "go away… unless of course you have a scroll that can take place of the one we have."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru said as he took out the scroll from his pack, "you help people and they give problems." He then sighed as Sakura took the scroll that she had taken from Dosu, and said, "we have the same scroll. After these guys beat the Oto-nin, they gave me the scroll."

Shikamaru nodded his head towards Sasuke and Naruto while Ino, standing behind Sasuke, was staring at Sakura in confusion. Sakura shrugged as she placed the scroll back into her pack just as Sakura and Naruto turned towards her while Shikamaru scowled at the pink haired girl. All the while Choji was eating his potato chips.

"What happened to your forehead protector?" Sasuke asked staring at Sakura's covered forehead.

"Got a cut… I already placed some bandages over it when the two of you were unconscious," Sakura lied as the members of Team Ten, all of whom were behind Naruto and Sasuke, glanced at each other wondering why Sakura was being so secretive, "and you know how I hate to… you know…" It was then that Sakura realized that she needed to act as if Sasuke hadn't killed Naruto and Kakashi. She needed to act as if he hadn't betrayed them all, she needed to act as if he hadn't threaten the whole Ninja world. She knew she had to sort through her feelings thanks to the new information in regards to Naruto. For now though, she needed to be the girl who loved Sasuke unconditionally. So she stared lovingly at Sasuke and said, "how my complexion has to be perfect for you, Sasuke-kun."

At this, Ino narrowed her eyes at Sakura while Naruto pretended to gag, and Sasuke scowled before looking away from Sakura. Sakura then shrugged before looking away from Sasuke to Team Ten, "thank you, you guys."

"Yeah," Shikamaru said. A confused Team Ten turned, before leaving the site. Sakura saw Shikamaru and Ino looking back at her before they vanished into the trees.

Sakura then turned towards the boys in her team and pressed her lips together as she watched Sasuke and Naruto arguing. This was how it should be, that was what Sakura was thinking to herself. One was her first love who killed so many, and was about to kill her and the Kages.

And the other was the annoying blonde idiot of a teammate. A boy she had gotten used to and admired. A boy who, Sakura realized, was really the one who had acknowledged her before Sasuke.

Before anyone, actually… well… except for Ino. But Sakura didn't count Ino.

'I should repair my friendship with her,' Sakura thought as she looked at Naruto, 'and Naruto, maybe… maybe it's time I gave a you a chance.' Sakura could still see Naruto's cold pale body lying on the ground in front of her with Sasuke's foot resting on his chest.

'You will not die, Naruto,' Sakura thought to herself as she walked towards them, 'I will watch your back. I will protect you.' She then looked over at Sasuke, 'Sasuke-kun, I'll do all I can to prevent you from deserting us. And I mean I will do anything, even if I have to break your legs and arms to keep you in Konoha.'

Sakura placed her hand on Sasuke's shoulder, the boy looking over at her. She then placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, the blonde blushing as he stopped yelling at Sasuke and stared at her in surprise.

"My boys," Sakura said, and the two of them blushed, "let's get out of here. We have another scroll to find, and then we head for the tower." The two boys looked at each other with confusion on their faces at how Sakura's forwardness before looking back at the pink haired girl. They nodded their heads with looks of confusion before they took off towards the nearest branch.

TBC.


	2. Chapter 2

With the three Oto-nin lying unconscious on the ground behind them, and Team Ten already moving away from where Sakura's future-self returned to her twelve-year-old body, the latter's heart was racing as she landed on the first branch. Her back was to the Oto-nin with Naruto to her left and Sasuke on another branch to her right. Sakura pushed the thought of Sasuke to one side just as they were about to leap off to another branch.

Suddenly Sakura gasped. She felt a sudden pain, followed by weakness permeating through her entire body. She arched her back, her arms flailing outwards while feeling her body leaning backwards. Just as her world started to spin wildly, Sakura saw Naruto and Sasuke turning towards her.

"Sakura-chan?"

Naruto's voice seemed so far away as Sakura felt her eyes getting heavier while the strength in her body seemed to pour out and away into nothingness. She felt so weak that she couldn't even think straight as she lost her footing and began falling down towards the hard ground several feet beneath the branch.

'I feel as if I'm floating,' Sakura thought upon a strange sensation throughout her body of her spirit being pulled up and away from her physical-self. It felt as if time slowed down significantly enough for her mind to yell at her body to move, she heard herself scream in her head for Naruto and Sasuke to help her. But even the mental yelling petered out the closer she fell to the ground.

"Sakura."

She heard Sasuke's voice as she fell, unable to move her limbs or even mold chakra to soften the ground beneath her through a jutsu. Her body was parallel to the ground as she wondered to herself, 'why? Why can't I feel my body? Is it because of the sudden influx of chakra? Is that…?'

Sakura could see the blurred sight of the branch she was standing on earlier; it looked so far away as it continued to move further and further away at such a slow speed. She summoned any strength she thought available and tried to raise her arm and reach out for the distant branch, but she couldn't move any part of her body. She tried to open her lips and yell out, but she couldn't even move her lips.

And just as her eyes closed shut and darkness took her over, Sakura though she saw a shadow to her left. She felt the direction her body was falling suddenly change before there was a thud. She thought her body shook slightly before she heard soft whispers – and then she didn't feel anything at all.

Suddenly, Sakura found herself back at the Valley of the End and on her knees with both Naruto and Kakashi lying dead in front of her. Her arms were hanging limply by her sides as she lifted her head and set her sights, through tear stained red puffy eyes, at a sneering Sasuke who had already activated his Chidori and his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Oi."

It was Sasuke's voice, but his lips were not moving. His lips were fixed on a sneer as he glared down at her.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura was speechless as she glanced down at Naruto's pale face staring up into the dark sky above. His lips weren't moving either; but she was certain it was Naruto's voice she heard. Sakura looked back up at the sneering Sasuke and wondered why she was back here; she remembered having been in the past… she was in the Haunted Forest during the second stage of the Chuunin Exams. It was supposed to be a past where she could change the fate of her two teammates.

'Was being in the past just a dream? An effect of Sasuke-kun's mangekyo?' Sakura thought while staring into the eyes of the Uchiha traitor, 'even after killing Naruto and Kakashi, you're still Sasuke-kun to me.' Determined not to feel useless, she fought a feeling in her gut to beg for her life. Sakura pressed her lips together while wondering if the Sasuke in front of her was a dream; she remembered feeling exhausted before falling from the branch after all, 'am I unconscious in the real world and this… this nightmare is the dream?'

It was just then that Sakura caught the stench of death in the air, she could feel the breeze that carried it brush her cheek. She shook her head; the girl still wasn't certain what was real and what was not. Hearing a growl, Sakura looked up to see Sasuke pull his hand back, his red Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan eyes boring into her own jade orbs.

"Sakura."

There it was again. Sakura snapped her head to the left at the sound of a distant voice. She then looked back at Sasuke and tilted her head in confusion upon hearing Sasuke's voice shouting… but the lips of the Sasuke in front of her were not moving, 'why are you shouting, Sasuke-kun? Why aren't your lips moving?' She now felt light-headed using the suffix 'kun', as if it felt so wrong. However, she knew it was now a habit, it was just like Naruto's verbal tick of 'ttebayo'.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura's eyes widened before she looked down at Naruto's dead body once again. She was sure that it was his voice she had just heard. It was so far away, but it was definitely from his lips.

'This has to be the dream!' she yelled out mentally as she stared at Naruto's body.

"Good-bye, Sakura." Sakura snapped her head up just as the future, older, Sasuke rushed forward and pushed his Chidori enveloped hand towards her body.

Breathing hard as she stared at the Chidori coming towards here, only one word formed in her mind. If this was real and not a dream, then she wasn't going out like a coward… she would fight as hard as Kakashi and Naruto. And if she died, then she died… at least she would die with her sensei and the boy who loved her… at least she would die like a Shinobi.

As the Chidori neared, Sakura mentally yelled out, 'No!' while her arm snapped upwards.

**Naruto and Sasuke, a few minutes earlier.**

It was Sasuke who grabbed Sakura's unconscious body mid-air before landing on the grass below with a worried Naruto landing next to him. The two of them saw that she was taking deep breaths while her eyes were closed shut and her head moving to and fro. It would be a moment later that she was placed onto the hard-grassy ground with her legs straightened out in front of her and her back leaned against the trunk of a tree.

As she breathed through her mouth, Sasuke and Naruto stared down towards her, the both of them sharing the same thoughts as the other.

'What's going on?'

Sasuke stood with his arms by his side staring at Sakura he called out her name; there was definitely a part of him that was growing to care for this strange team of his. He stared at the pink haired girl with his lips pressed together, while Naruto strode towards Sakura and then went down on one knee to her left. He watched Naruto then reached out and gently shake her left shoulder.

"Sakura-chan?"

"She's still breathing," Sasuke said as he started walking towards Sakura while Naruto leaned sideways and stared at the bodies behind Sasuke.

He nodded his head towards them before saying, "think they did something to her?" Naruto then turned to Sakura with a worried look, "Shikamaru and his team would have said something… that she was injured or…"

"She said the Oto-nin cut her forehead," Sasuke said as he stopped to her right side and crouched down. He then reached out with his right hand as he spoke, "she said the cut was bandaged, that's why she changed the position of her headband…" Sasuke's fingers were about to brush against the metal plate with the Konoha symbol when suddenly Sakura snapped opened her eyes.

Sasuke locked his eyes with Sakura's orbs while Naruto yelled out in joy; but Sasuke noticed something off. In her eyes, there was something off. There was fear, and then that fear turned to anger as they locked eyes while she swung her left arm upwards before her fingers snapped around Sasuke's right wrist.

She was panting while Naruto called out, "Sakura-chan!"

"Sakura?" Sasuke said as the grip tightened. He saw her facial features twitch in anger as she growled out in a low, enraged voice.

"You killed them all," At hearing that, Sasuke and Naruto froze. Then, all of a sudden, Sakura had a look of confusion on her face as she looked around, her eyes passing right over Naruto as if he wasn't there, before she looked back towards Sasuke, "no, this.. this is a dream… a dream…" Then Sasuke yelped as Sakura gritted her teeth, her face etched with an expression of pain while she tightened her grip, "you still killed them all."

"Sakura-chan," Naruto reached for and grabbed the hand wrapped around Sasuke's wrist like a vice before yelling once again, "Sakura-chan!" In the meantime, Sasuke hissed in pain as the fingers around his wrist tightened with a strength he would have never associated with Sakura. Sasuke was trying to pull his hand away while, along with Naruto, calling out for Sakura to let go.

**Sakura**

Unknown to both Sasuke and Naruto, Sakura wasn't seeing the younger version of the Uchiha who betrayed the village. Her mind was exhausted, and it was showing her the older Sasuke plunging his Chidori enveloped arm towards her. Sakura brought her arm and grabbed his wrist with her hand. She was panting hard from the pain coursing through her body through her hand thanks to the electrical charge of the Chidori. Sakura then hissed out, "you killed them." Suddenly, everything melted around the two of them while Sakura glanced around before finding herself in the great hall where the bodies of the dead toads lay around her, the floor covered in green and blue blood, "no, I was sent back… I was sent back… this is a dream… a dream…"

"You have always been the weak one, Sakura," the older Sasuke sneered as he pushed his hand forwards.

Sakura screamed in pain in her exhaustion fueled vision– as did Sakura in real life as she tightened her grip around Sasuke's wrist. In her mind, Sasuke was pushing his hand forward while Sakura tightened her grip. In reality though, in addition to the look of pain on Sasuke's face, there was a look of concern from Naruto.

"Sakura-chan! Where have you been training?" Naruto then groaned as he tried to pry apart her fingers from Sasuke's wrist while the latter reached out with his other hand through the pain and grabbed her fingers as well. The two of them started prying her fingers off one at a time while she glared at Sasuke who screamed in pain again.

"This is no dream, Sakura," the older Sasuke said in her exhausted mind before pulling his hand away from her grip; at the same time, Naruto and Sasuke managed to pry apart her fingers. Once his hand was loose, Sasuke pulled away and stepped back with Naruto. He was rubbing his wrist while Naruto stared at Sakura in concern before glancing at Sasuke who was staring at Sakura through narrowed eyes. They saw Sakura lower her hand, her eyes glaring at Sasuke.

"You killed Kakashi and Naruto, you want to kill the Kage's," Sakura said as the older Sasuke smirked while the real Naruto and Sasuke opened their eyes wide in shock before looking at each other and then back at Sakura, "this is a dream… I went back… I went back and I will change things. The past will change, and so will the future."

"What?" Sasuke and Naruto said after Sakura mentioned that she was in the past. The two of them looked at each other with confusion etched on their faces before turning back to Sakura who had closed her eyes.

"I will break your mind until it is shattered," the older Sasuke said as he activated his Chidori once more, "I will make your body one of my paths, and then… then you will help me rule this world. You, Kakashi, Naruto, Tsunade and the other Kages… all of you."

"Sa… Sakura-chan?" Naruto whispered as he took a step forward, and into her direct line of sight; standing in front of Sasuke who was still rubbing his wrist while trying to keep the Curse Mark from activating, "Sakura-chan, I don't know what those ninja did, but the cut on your forehead could be… you know… poison."

He then looked back over his shoulder to Sasuke who nodded his head. The younger Uchiha then said, "Sakura, we need to…"

"No!" Sakura, in her dream state, brought her arms, one of which was badly burned, over her face as the older Sasuke dashed forward while swinging his Chidori arm in front of him and aimed towards her chest.

**Sakura**

There was a flash just before the Chidori covered hand touched her arms. And suddenly, Sakura found herself back on the forest floor, light filtering down through the canopy of the trees while a warm breeze brushed by her. The feeling of the warmth from the sunlight, as well as the warm breeze, had Sakura snap open her eyes before bringing her arms down. A gasp of relief escaped her lips upon finding both younger Naruto and Sasuke staring at her. The two boys gaped at her just as she, once again, felt her strength leaving her body.

'Must have been the adrenaline,' Sakura thought as she leaned her head back against the tree trunk behind her and tried to calm down her rapidly beating heart.

"Sakura-chan?"

"What did you mean, Sakura?" Sasuke jumped in while walking around Naruto, a bruise already developing around his wrist, as he glared at Sakura, "what did you mean when you said I killed Naruto, Kakashi, and the Kage's. What did you mean by changing the future by changing the past?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at Sasuke. She didn't know if her expression showed her confusion, but she was confused. 'How could they know? It was just a dream, and.. and…' Sakura closed her eyes as she tried to come up with an explanation, but in her weakened state, her mind was processing information slowly.

"Maybe you were poisoned, 'ttebayo?"

'Thank you, Naruto,' Sakura though opening her eyes again, 'poison… I already mentioned the cut on my forehead. I could say it was possibly poison that made me hallucinate.'

"I was cut on the forehead, it could have been something in the kunai those unconscious nin were carrying," Sakura replied slowly.

"I know that look you gave me, Sakura," Sasuke said with his hands in his pockets now, "it's the same look I have when I look in the mirror every day when I think about that man I want to kill. It's a look of rage… pure rage."

"I was delirious," Sakura said with Naruto looking between them for a few times before scratching his cheeks and saying that he was confused.

"You said I killed Naruto… I…"

"Phhhffff," Naruto shrugged his shoulders before glaring at Sasuke, "you could try, bastard."

"Loser, shut up," Sasuke growled at Naruto while still glaring at Sakura.

"The two of you shut up," Sakura hissed out angrily. She missed the looks of surprise on both Sasuke and Naruto; they were surprised that her ire was being targeted at both of them instead of just Naruto. She was losing her strength, and so she needed to say what she needed to say in a real short amount of time. She breathed in deep before saying, "I read up on poisons that could cause someone to become extremely exhausted since it blocks off the target's chakra." She then took a deep breath while fighting her heavy eyelids before saying, "there is no cure."

"You can't die, Sakura-chan!" panicked Naruto as he rushed to Sakura, slid down to his knees, and then grabbed her shoulders. He then shook her while exclaiming, "no! you can't die!"

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled out, along with Sakura who immediately closed her eyes, and tried to keep down the contents in her stomach. She then took several deep breaths to keep herself awake. Opening her heavy eyelids, she struggled to speak even as Naruto stopped shaking her body, "Naruto, make as many Shadow Clones as you can…" she was breathing hard now. Her arms lay limply by her side as she shifted her eyes towards Naruto and continued, "spread out your clones to find… find more scrolls and… and…" she gulped before continuing, "meet us at the river… south bank…"

"Sakura," Sasuke said, "you…"

"These kind of poisons… are… are made to… make… unconscious…" she whispered as her vision started to cloud while she saw everything around her spinning around, "should wake… few… hours…" Sakura's eyes were nearly closed as she struggled to speak; she hoped that she would awaken in a few hours, "let… run… course…" she took a deep breath before struggling to speak the next few words, "do not… open scroll…. must… go… tower… Sasuke… Naru…"

Sakura's body leaned to the left and then want limp.

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other and then back at Sakura once again. The blonde scratched his head while Sasuke remained standing with his hands in his pockets. Sasuke frowned as he stared at the current expression of peace on Sakura's face and mentally compared it to the expression of anger directed at him earlier. It was an expression he was not familiar with from Sakura… an expression he knew in his heart that Sakura would never have for him since she declared her 'love' for him.

'So why have that expression of hate and anger?' Sasuke thought while Naruto stood up from Sakura's side and prepared to make the familiar seal of the Kage Bunshin.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," Naruto exclaimed before there were numerous puffs of smoke that soon dissipated to reveal forty clones of himself. Sasuke turned towards the clones and then back to Naruto who was frowning with confusion etched on his face.

"That's still a lot of Kage Bunshin, what's wrong with your face?"

"I was going for more," Naruto responded with a tone of surprise as his clones looked around at each other before saying that they would be going on their way. However, before they left, Sasuke spoke up.

"One of your clones should remain behind." Everyone, including the original Naruto, looked over at Sasuke with a look of confusion on their face. Sasuke then sighed before explaining, "one of them should carry Sakura." Sasuke could see that the original Naruto was about to speak and so, instead of having to listen to the whining from the original blonde about how he would be able to carry Sakura, Sasuke continued, "there are still dangers here and we have four more days to travel to the tower. You and I have to also defend Sakura who happens to be unconscious." He then turned to Sakura, "one of your clones would be able to keep her away in case we come up against an enemy." He then turned to Naruto once again, "you get it?"

Naruto didn't answer Sasuke. Instead he looked at one of his clones and nodded his head. That clone walked forward while the others then dispersed to search for any dropped scrolls while Sasuke turned back towards Sakura, "hn."

"What?" Naruto asked as his clone picked up Sakura in his arms.

"Something is a bit off with her," Sasuke said as he walked towards the unconscious Sakura and reached for her headband. He recalled how she suddenly woke up and grabbed his wrist earlier, but this time there was no movement from Sakura while Naruto was saying that they shouldn't disturb her. Sasuke shook his head as the clone twisted away from Sasuke, his hand slipping out of reach of the headband, "if there is a cut, then we need to make sure its been dressed properly."

"Sakura-chan would have told us if there was something wrong," Naruto, the original one, said before he and his clone leapt up towards a nearby branch. His voice trailed off as he leapt to another branch alongside his clone, "come on, you ass. We need to head for the river and get more scrolls on the way."

Frowning Sasuke leapt up and continued behind Naruto and the clone who was carrying Sakura. His eyes were locked in the clone while thinking, 'how did she know about this river? None of us knew about it, and we were not given a map. Just a general direction of where to head for… hell, Naruto and I had to climb above the tree canopy to check out the direction.'

Taking another chakra enhanced leap from another branch, Sasuke thought, 'so how does Sakura know about a river? We were never given a map.'

**Team Gai.**

Tenten was holding up Lee as the two of them jumped from one branch to another alongside Neji. It would be a few minutes after leaving Team Seven that the three of them landed at a relatively quiet area of the forest before Tenten leaned Lee's unconscious body against a thick trunked tree.

"He's got mostly bruises and abrasions," Tenet said as she examined Lee's body while Neji searched for any internal injuries with his Byakugan.

After deactivating his Kekkei Genkai, Neji looked away and towards the direction they had left while a frown formed on his lips.

"Neji?" Tenten said as she looked up from Lee. She was about to ask him if Lee had any major internal injuries, but the frown on his face changed her question to "what's wrong?"

"That girl with the pink hair," Neji said as he stood with his arms crossed over his chest, his Byakugan active just as Naruto's clone, the one carrying Sakura, and the rest of Team Seven leapt onwards towards the tower. He deactivated his Byakugan before turning towards the smirking Tenten with her hands on her waist.

"You're interested in her?"

"No," Neji deadpanned as he recalled the two of them searching for the missing Lee.

The Hyuuga found Lee lying unconscious on the forest floor near the small cave with his Byakugan as they were making their way towards Sakura's location. He had seen Team Ten ready to move, he had seen the beating that Sakura was receiving from the Oto-nin, he had seen that Naruto and Sasuke were unconscious. Then just before he was about to deactivate his Byakugan, Neji had seen a sudden surge in Sakura's chakra. He was surprised, but outwardly cool, at what his eyes were showing him as the two of them continued on their way to Lee's location. To Neji, it was as if chakra was being funneled through Sakura's body, her network suddenly hit with a surge of blue before part of it was diverted into a pool of blue energy in her abdomen that kept growing and growing while more chakra was being directed towards, and then sealed, in her forehead.

It was something he hadn't ever seen before; a chakra network forcefully maturing before his very eyes. He then saw Sakura stand up before she released the seal. He was awed at the sudden release of chakra reinvigorating her body while it was being healed from so many critical injuries. He saw the collected chakra starting to slowly decrease the more her body was being healed.

And then there was the strength of the chakra behind that punch that had Dosu flying backwards, crashing into a tree trunk before collapsing unconscious. It was something he knew that not even an experienced genin would be able to accomplish – and Sakura was supposed to be a rookie.

"Neji."

He turned towards Tenten.

"You look concerned about something, what's going on? Is it about that girl? What did you see?"

Honestly, Neji had no explanation for what he had seen. The girl hadn't taken any drugs to increase her chakra by that large of an amount; to be more specific, he hadn't seen her take anything – legal or otherwise. It was as if the boost to her chakra had come from out of nowhere.

Taking a deep breath, he told Tenten what he had seen. And with every word, Tenten was getting more and more surprised.

"Wait, that sound we heard was her punching one of those ninja's into a tree?" she asked with widened eyes, "and then she knocked out the others with the help of the other rookie team?"

"That's what I saw," Neji spoke with an ever-present frown on his face.

"And no drugs?"

"None. That surge of chakra came out of nowhere," he continued.

Tenten rubbed her chin while saying, "they're supposed to be rookies. I mean, I think I've seen her around the academy a year before we graduated. She was fixated on that Uchiha boy, like most of the other girls in their year… and in our year too." Tenten rubbed her chin before continuing, "but she's nothing special… or else Gai Sensei would have been really excited about her skills."

"I still think we need to keep an eye on her," Neji said, "the Uchiha too, I don't know much about the blonde brat."

Tenten could only nod her head before turning towards their groaning teammate.

"OOOOH," Lee mumbled moving his head from one side to another before slowly opening his eyes.

"Look who's finally awake," Tenten chuckled before walking towards Lee as the two of them hoped to leave for the tower once their injured teammate had recuperated enough.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Hinata, a day later.**

Hinata and her team already had the two scrolls they needed thanks to a team from Iwa who were apparently stung by one of the creatures that lived in the forest of death; that sting rendered that particular Iwa team paralysed. So, it was no problem for Kiba to pilfer their belongings and take their scrolls; now, all they needed to do was head directly for the tower in the middle of the forest. Hinata was the only one who bowed at the paralysed Iwa team before saying that they were sorry for taking the scrolls while they were rendered immobile. Then Team Eight left and were on the move towards the tower. The goal now was to not get caught by a more powerful team; a team that could defeat them in combat, or potentially kill them, after which they would steal their two scrolls.

A team much like the one they were hiding from now. Behind some thick bushes, Hinata was terrified as was Kiba and Shino, although the latter was trying his best to not show it. Gulping at the killing intent following that disgusting squelching sound after one of the team from Sand growled out a command "Sand Burial", Hinata could only glance at poor Akamaru. The puppy was trembling in terror from not just the evil chakra emanating from the boy from the Sand team, but from the screams of the men who she knew in her heart were slaughtered. Her heart was racing… blood was pounding through her ears while hoping that the boy and his team would not come after them next.

Hinata had her eyes closed shut… she didn't dare activate her Byakugan in case the Sand team discovered their location. The tension was rising in the area like a pressure cooker set to explode. And then just like that, the chakra was less and less heavy. But Hinata and the others couldn't move. Her whole body was trembling in fear.

She didn't know how long it had been since they closed their eyes and stayed absolutely still. She could hear Akamaru still whimpering; but the heaviness and evil from the chakra signatures were moving further and further away. But Hinata's fear was so great that she dare not open her eyes in case the three Sand Shinobi discover they should just kill the members of Team Ten.

Suddenly, Hinata stiffened as a presence landed in front of her with a 'thud'. She felt warmth from the presence of whoever it was, and even Akamaru had barked happily. Then Hinata stiffened when there was a hand placed on her forehead followed by that very familiar voice… the voice she'd hear in her dreams from the boy she would admire from afar.

"Hinata?"

"Naruto," Hinata heard Kiba and Shino call out in relief while Akamaru barked out in cheer. Hinata felt her heart racing, her face warming up from her neck to the top of her purple haired head, she swore she could hear herself panting as she opened her eyes to find a smiling Naruto with his hand on her forehead.

"Na… Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered while thinking in a panic, 'he's touching me… he's touching my forehead… Naruto-Kun is touching my forehead and…'

"Hey, Hinata, why's your face so red? And why is your head so warm, 'ttebayo?" Naruto asked just before Hinata felt darkness surrounding her.

**Clone #6**

"Eh!?" Naruto said as he stood up while rubbing the back of his head. The same question escaped his lips every time he and Hinata would encounter one another, "is she sick, ttebayo?"

"You seriously don't know anything, do you?" Kiba narrowed his eyes at Naruto while Shino stood up and stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets. Kiba then turned to Hinata with a frown on his face before gently shaking the Hyuuga girl.

"What are you doing here, Naruto?" Shino asked in a calm tone of voice, "why do I ask? Because…"

"Felt a weird Chakra while searching for some scrolls," Naruto said before he dashed towards an area next to a thick trunked tree, one of many in the surrounding area, and then headed for what could be only described as a twisted and partly flattened body with blood splattered all around it. Upon seeing the body, Naruto stopped and then took a step back in both disgust and a little fear. "What the hell happened, ttebayo?" He cautiously walked over to the bodies surrounding the one he had seen and grimaced at the brutality.

Kiba then explained what happened in regards to the team from Sand with the unusual shinobi.

"Unusual?"

"He carries a gourd on his back," Shino said. And it was then that Naruto had his 'aha' moment.

"Right… met him… kind of creepy," the blonde answered before he glanced down at the body just inches away from his feet. He swore he saw a scroll underneath all that blood and gore, and so, while asking if Team Ten collected their scrolls, Naruto crouched down and gripped the bloodied scroll.

Kiba snorted before he stood up from behind the bushes and said, "we're not telling you!" Naruto, at the same time, said "whatever!" while reaching for some leaves on the ground before he wiped the blood on the scroll before smirking; it was the scroll his team needed. It was then that he stood up while stuffing the scroll into his weapons pouch as a thought came to him.

"Hey, how about we leave together for the tower, ttebayo'," Naruto said as he turned towards Team Ten – who still had Hinata unconscious, although she was groaning so it seemed as if she would be waking up soon. Naruto explained that if they had the scrolls they needed, then they could move to the rendezvous point as a team to meet with Sasuke and Sakura. He excitedly continued, "we'll be able to protect each other, 'ttebayo."

Before Kiba could decline, it was Shino who answer, "Naruto is correct. Why? Because we are Konoha Shinobi, and given we have the scrolls we require, it would be beneficial to move as one group in the event more powerful teams target us fr our scrolls."

Shino had always freaked out Naruto, even when they were students in the same class all those years ago. But this time, he was thankful for Shino's support. He knew that with Sakura down, they were down a teammate. He just hoped that the main Naruto wouldn't complain about having Team Ten with them.

'Who am I kidding,' Naruto thought as Kiba reluctantly agreed with rubbing the back of his head. As he turned back towards Hinata, who was stirring, Kiba then explained that they would have to wait for the purple haired Hyuuga. In the meantime, Naruto continued with his thoughts, 'the Boss will be complaining.'

And before long, Naruto and Team Ten… along with a very nervous Hinata – Naruto still didn't understand why she was so nervous around him – took off.

**Clone #8**

Naruto landed onto the grassy ground and found three Konoha genin knocked out. He looked around at the unconscious bodies and noticed that one of the scrolls lay on the ground open. Naruto winced, 'must have been some gas or something in the scroll, 'ttebayo.' The clone made a mental note to not open any other scroll as he searched the surrounding area before finding a second one sealed and secured behind some large rocks.

As he reached for the scroll and then grabbed it, his mind was on Sakura and if she was doing okay.

'It was unusual how Sakura-chan acted, 'ttebayo,' he thought as he checked the symbol on the scroll and saw that it was one that Team Seven already carried – the same one that Sakura had grabbed after Shikamaru and his team helped to save her from those Oto Shinobi. 'I haven't seen her that angry since… well… the last time the Boss asked her out.' Naruto frowned as a thought formed, 'no… she wasn't even angry as much as she was at Sasuke the bastard.'

With curious thoughts about why Sakura could have been angry at Sasuke, and why she seemed to be so tired all of a sudden, Naruto placed the unopen scroll in the open so that others who needed it – the Earth Scroll – could just collect it and move on. With his mind wondering if Sakura woke up from her unconscious state, Naruto leapt up onto a tree branch and then darted off.

**Naruto, now.**

Naruto and Sasuke were staring at Sakura who had been asleep for nearly three days now. Three days since she collapsed after being rescued by Shikamaru and his team. There would be occasions when she was mumbling something in her sleep while her eyes were moving around at a rapid pace just beneath her eyelids; but otherwise her sleep was calm. Only a few minutes had passed since Naruto, Sasuke, and the clone carrying Sakura arrived at the river. The clone gently placed Sakura's unconscious body against a large rock and then he nodded at Naruto before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"Something's off," Sasuke said as before his mouth was pressed together in a hard line. Naruto was standing next to Sasuke who then took a few steps forward and crouched next to Sakura, "she was angry."

"You have that effect on people, 'ttebayo," Naruto pointed out as he walked up to Sakura's left side and then crouched down. He then reached down and lifted her left hand off the rocky ground and then placed it gently on her lap. IN his mind, he was thinking back to just before that crazy man calling himself Orochimaru attacked them… he was concerned about both Sasuke and Sakura… and now the latter was unconscious. He kept on wondering if one of the ninja from Otogakure could have hurt Sakura before the arrival of Shikamaru's team.

And it was Sasuke who gave words to his thoughts, "looks like she was beaten before Team Ten helped her."

"Yeah," Naruto whispered as he stared at the way Sakura wore her forehead protector. He knew that Sasuke was right, that it was unusual for her to wear the forehead protector in this way. But then again, he trusted Sakura when she said that she was injured and she wanted to hide the scar. Naruto shook his head before saying, "we have another two days to reach the tower, 'ttebayo."

"We can't stay here long," Sasuke said as he looked around while Naruto noticed the fishes swimming by in the meandering river next to where they were resting. Naruto then pointed out they needed to catch some food for the night. Sasuke nodded his head before saying, "your clones should be back by then… hopefully."

Naruto nodded his head before saying, "she really did seem angry, 'ttebayo."

"I've seen that anger before," Sasuke whispered before Naruto snapped his head towards him, the blonde's facial expression telling the Uchiha to continue. Sasuke looked away from Sakura and Naruto as he got up to his feet, "me… it's on my face every morning when I think about what that man did."

"Who?" Naruto asked, "which man are you talking about?". He was genuine confused about what Sasuke was talking about. He knew that the Uchiha had the same eyes as him, the eyes that screamed he was in pain every single day of his life. Naruto also knew that Sasuke was the last Uchiha, that his while family… his whole clan actually… was killed in one night. But he didn't know how that was possible, 'who could be powerful enough to do something as cruel as that.'

"Let her sleep," Sasuke ignored Naruto's question as he looked up at the sun being so high in the sky, "it's about noon now, we need to catch some fish for food and some wood for the fire." He then turned to Naruto, "hope your clones get back here by tonight. We're going to have to leave tomorrow to make it to the tower within five days."

"They'll be here by then," Naruto said before Sasuke said he would be heading for the nearby wooded area to collect materials for a fire. As the Uchiha boy walked off, Naruto turned to the unconscious Sakura once again before he turned around so that his back was facing her. He took off his shirts and then his trousers before ending up only in his boxes. The boy then walked towards the river cautiously and then created a few more clones.

Taking one more look at Sakura over his shoulder with concern on his face, Naruto then turned towards the fish in the river and then waded into the waters. As Naruto went to grasp for a couple of fast moving fish, he didn't hear Sakura whispering unintelligibly while she moved her head from side to side.

It would be hours later, just as the sun had gotten lower in the sky, that there was a first going while several pieces of gutted fish were being smoked. The two boys were exhausted, and so they ate in relative silence while their pink haired team-mate was fast asleep.

And it would be just as the sky started to turn dark that the first clone arrived with a scroll. It was one that they didn't need, so it was set to one side before the clone vanished in a puff of smoke. And then there was another clone, and then another, and then another. All of them brought along a scroll that wasn't needed – and the clones would tell a furious Sasuke that they couldn't remember which scroll they needed to find. However, before Sasuke blew his top off, the fifteenth Clone brought the scroll they needed. And then another one brought the same needed scroll. After all the returned clones vanished, the last clone was the one who accompanied Team Ten.

After it was explained by the Naruto clone that Team Ten and Team Seven should join forces on the way to the tower, the two groups sat down for dinner. It was then that Naruto and Sasuke briefly explained what happened to Sakura; that she was suffering from severe chakra exhaustion.

"She'll wake up soon," Sasuke said before he bit into a fish.

And Naruto nodded in agreement before he looked to his left at the sleeping pink haired girl, 'wake up, Sakura-chan. Whatever those guys did, I hope the effects pass quickly.'

**Sakura.**

The last thing Sakura remembered was being rested against the trunk of a tree before Naruto and Sasuke stood over her. It was soon followed by exhaustion permeating through her entire body and then darkness surrounding her as she slipped into unconsciousness. Before going unconscious, Sakura recalled her lips moving as she stared at the blurred figure of the younger Naruto, but she could not hear what she was saying. And now, after what seemed like several minutes, Sakura felt the warmth of the sun caressing her cheeks while a gentle breeze brushed past her.

Snapping her eyes open, Sakura gasped as she turned her head to the left and right before realizing she was lying on grass. She then closed her eyes again and turned her head so that when she did open her eyes once again, she was looking up at the bright blue cloudless sky. Narrowing her eyes at the sky above, she slowly sat up. She was feeling groggy, but Sakura still looked around to find herself at the very same training ground where she and Team Seven completed their survival test so many years ago before becoming a Genin team.

"Hello!" Sakura yelled out as she slowly got to her feet while staring at the three small logs – one of which once had Naruto tied to it. 'What's going on? I know that I'm in the past… or at least I'm supposed to be in the past. Specifically, I'm supposed to be in the middle of the Chuunin Exam's second phase in the Forest of Death.' Sakura remembered the vision of the grown up Sasuke which followed the sensation of slipping out from her body before she started falling backwards off the tree branch. She could remember the anger coursing through her body as she tightened her grip on Sasuke's wrist… all she needed to do was flick her wrist she would have broken Sasuke's hand.

And then she realized what she was doing; she was in the past and she was about to break the hand of a younger Sasuke. As Sakura breathed in and out to calm herself, she reminded herself that the dream was just a dream… that it could not hurt her. 'I'm in a dream now… I remember… I slipped into unconsciousness and then I find myself here.' And she reminded herself again as she walked towards the three logs, 'this is the dream; Naruto and Sasuke-kun are out there in the real world.'

Sakura stopped her thoughts and her walk before she then looked back down at the green grass.

'How can I still call him Sasuke-kun?' Sakura thought before she looked back up at the sky and frowned, 'he killed Kakashi-sensei and Naruto. he wanted to kill the Kage's… he was going to kill me… he killed so many toads, and he killed Katsuyu.' Sakura looked back down as she once again started walking towards the three logs that were driven into the ground.

'But he hasn't done that yet,' Sakura thought to herself as she walked past the logs and towards the memorial stone at the end of the cemetery nearby.

"_Maybe he was always like that," _Sakura's Inner-self added as the image of Naruto tied up against the log, followed by herself and Sasuke sitting on either side with bento's in their hands, faded away. Sakura pressed her lips together as she mentally agreed with her Inner-self… that Sasuke was already on his way to being that vey man who would kill without hesitation. A part of Sakura knew it to be true as she walked past the grave markers; her eyes on the memorial stone.

And now she had to re-evaluate everything she knew about Sasuke. She had to re-evaluate everything she knew about Naruto as well. And of course, she had to re-evaluate everything about herself and her own priorities. She stopped just in front of the memorial stone a few seconds later and stared at the names etched into the surface- the names were of heroes who died for the village. She scanned names with her eyes and ended on Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. Their names were side by side; anyone who did not know the significance of those name would probably be thinking the Yondaime Hokage's name was etched next to a regular Kunoichi's name.

'But the names are not ordinary,' Sakura though as a gentle, warm breeze brushed her cheek, 'they were married, they were parents, they sacrificed themselves to protect us… and their son would not know about them until much later.'

Sakura's eyes then scanned for another name… and then she found it. 'Uchiha Obito… the reason why Kakashi-sensei's so late. And the one responsible for the war and the ruin of Naruto's childhood.' Sakura shook her head as she looked away towards the clouds above and then sighed. She turned around and walked away towards the path that led to the village. She had a lot of thinking to do while she was unconscious.

'I need to make the changes necessary to change the future,' Sakura thought to herself, 'maybe I need to talk to Kakashi-sensei and the Sandaime about what I should do or not do.' She told herself that any changes should be gradual; she didn't want to change the future too fast or else her knowledge of the future events would be worthless. She needed to prevent the Sandaime's death somehow while having the Sand-Sound Invasion take place. Sakura knew that it was the aftermath of the invasion that created the strong alliance between Suna and Konoha in the future... and she did not want to risk that alliance by changing too many things right now.

As she walked down the path, Sakura thought, 'Naruto has to go up against Gaara… that's what changes things.' She told herself that things could change slowly after that with the knowledge she had, particularly with overthrowing Danzo and Tsunade returning to the village much sooner. She had more plans going through her mind as she entered the village before she noticed the silence that surrounded her. It was then Sakura realized that the entire village was empty, 'not a surprise really; I must be too exhausted to think up any people I know or…'

"Sakura-chan!"

'I guess he's going to be in my subconscious from now on, huh,' Sakura thought to herself as she turned around to find Naruto running through the gates of the village. It was the teenaged Naruto in his dark orange and black shinobi get-up running up to her. Next to him was the teenaged Sasuke looking straight at her before looking away.

"Hn!" Sasuke grunted before saying, "Sakura."

"Naruto," Sakura said before her eyes shifted towards Sasuke while Naruto was talking about ramen, "Sasuke-kun."

"Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke said while turning his head towards Sakura with his mangekyo Sharingan active. She suddenly felt a chill when Naruto's voice stopped. Sakura blinked her eyes for just a second, only to find Naruto gurgling blood out of his mouth while Sasuke stood behind him. The Uchiha's Mangekyo and the Rinnegan were active, as was his Chidori – the arm that crackled with electricity was dripping in blood… the blood dripping down onto the dirt ground from Sasuke's arm which was shoved through Naruto's back and sticking out through his chest. And Naruto's eyes were staring back at her with a look of betrayal.

'This is a dream!' Sakura reminded herself as she stepped back and went into a defensive posture, 'I'm unconscious, none of this is real.' But it felt real… she felt her skin crawl, her heart race, her forehead starting to sweat. The smell of blood was real… she felt the sense of fear real.

'You supported him,' that is what Sakura felt Naruto's eyes were yelling out. Sakura could smell death in the air as her surroundings melted away and she found herself at the Valley of the End with Kakashi at her feet and Naruto still gurgling blood as Sasuke pulled his arm back with a disgusting 'squelch' sound.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled out before running towards Naruto as he fell towards the ground. Sakura caught Naruto, his head laying onto her shoulder as the two of them crumpled down to the ground with Sakura landing on her knees. Sakura's eyes were closed shut at the sensation of Naruto struggling to breath onto her neck. She focus as she started healing Naruto… gently pushing her chakra into his wound to heal him as she held him close. Naruto's breaths against her neck was getting shallower every second, Sakura knew the injury was fatal… but she still had to try and save him. she wasn't there for him when he died in the future, but she was here now. And to hell if this was just a dream, she was going to save Naruto.

Sakura focused on pushing her chakra into Naruto, willing for the wound to close and for him to breath once again. Suddenly she heard screams around her, along with splashes of warm liquid on her cheeks. In the meantime, along with the crescendo in the screaming that surrounded her, Sakura felt Naruto's breathing slow. As it slowed, she begged out loud just as the stench of blood hit her nostrils, "don't die… you can't die, Naruto."

And then, Naruto's breathing stopped. His head lay on her shoulders, his face towards her neck… but he was gone. He was gone again. And Sakura couldn't do anything. Even in her dream, she was useless.

"Naruto."

Over her racing heart Sakura heard even more gurgled screams.

'I was at the Valley, so where are the screams coming from?' Sakura thought to herself as she opened her eyes. After she did so, she wished that her eyes were sewn shut. She found herself in the village, there were bodies everywhere; bodies covered in blood. Some bodies were maimed, some were beheaded, others were hung off the roofs of buildings. Sakura turned her head from left to right while still holding onto Naruto and saw the bodies of her friends – Shikamaru, Ino, Kiba, Hinata among others – then Tsunade, and other men, women, and children. All of them were dead… the ground was soaked in their blood.

Sakura was horrified as she looked up at a small mountain of bodies with Sasuke standing at the summit; blood dripping down the length of his sword and onto the bodies he stood on. He was covered in blood… his red eye and purple eyes staring down at her as if mocking her.

"Weak," Sasuke growled, "you are always weak, Sakura. No matter how strong you become, you are always weak."

"I…. I am weak," Sakura whispered as her hands tightened around Naruto's cold body, "I know that… I know I can never go up to your level. I know that Naruto's beyond my reach too." Sakura narrowed her eyes at Sasuke before she felt a surge of electricity through her body as she leaned forward and yelled out, "but that does not mean I will give up!"

"Then fight me," Sasuke said as he landed on the blood-soaked ground with a sickening 'squelch' sound, "show me how dedicated you are, Sakura. Show me how long you would last until I kill you and you become one of my paths."

Sakura closed her eyes again as she felt cold from Naruto's body. She lowered the body to the ground before looking back up at Sasuke who was staring at her, his grip tightening around the handle to his sword. Her entire body was shaking as she stood up and took in several deep breaths.

"Ready?" Sasuke growled as he raised his sword.

"Traitor," Sakura said as she twisted her face in anger before dashing towards Sasuke as she reached into her pouch and grabbed her kunai. She yelled out "TRAITOR!" as her vision turned red just before a grinning Naruto rubbing the back of his head formed in the forefront of her mind. The next thing she knew, Sakura's fist impacted the side of teen Sasuke's face, "TRAITOR! I'll kill you!"

TBC


End file.
